Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Nella's ONEder Fund

Okay, so I'm a blog-hopper. I enjoy stepping into other people's lives for a moment and reading what matters to them. I found Nella and her family about 7-8 months ago through another blog and I have fallen in love with them. Nella's mom is a professional photographer and her posts include tons of beautiful photos and they are so well-written. I visit Nella, Lainey and their family's blog so often that Brody recognizes Nella on my computer. He calls her Vanilla. Nella's first birthday is coming up this weekend and her mom has put together a beautiful video here that celebrates Nella's life as a child with Down Syndrome. Kelle (Nella's Mom) has set up a fundraiser in Nella's name, the proceeds will go to the National Down Syndrome Society. I am urging you to go and view the video, snoop around the blog, and if you are able, please donate a bit to Nella's ONEder fund.

I have a cousin with Down Syndrome. Willa is my Dad's first cousin and he is also one of her caregivers and has been for nearly half of her life, since her parents died when I was young. Willa lives in a group home in Carroll, Iowa. She gets along pretty well, but I wonder if she would have had the opportunity to have been born into a society that was a bit more accepting than our society was in the 1950s how many more opportunities would Willa have had?

Both myself and my husband work directly with people with disabilities. Kelle's cause and her video have touched my heart. I hope you take a moment and view the links below. Kelle has a song playing in the background of her blog, so you will need to scroll to the bottom and pause that so that you can hear her in the video. It is well worth it. Have some Kleenex handy!